Overview

The Texas Panhandle’s frontier days were fresh in memory when fiddler Eck Robertson (1887-1975) arrived. Cowboys still worked on ranches in the 1910s but barbed-wire fences abounded too. Robertson pursued a continually evolving strategy to profit from the feverish transformation of living history into marketable nostalgia. He adopted cowboy dress clothes for his first recording session in New York in 1922 and became known as a ""Famous Cowboy Fiddler."" His stubborn vision spawned traditional-yet-transformed Texas fiddling. Robertson criticized other fiddlers because their playing was ""just the same thing over and over."" Robertson insisted that his fiddling—his balance of cleaving to tradition while adding new content—was the way of the future. Author Chris Goertzen traces Robertson’s story through detailed biography, music transcriptions, and careful musical analysis. Though Robertson struggled to attain consistent financial success as a performer, he cultivated a varied repertoire which allowed him to balance offering the comfort of shared recollection with fresh excitement. His biggest hit, ""Sally Goodin,"" was a game changer, both as played live and as the very first country music recording. With his undeniable talent and forward thinking, Robertson took a musical practice that already had a broad reach and a distinguished history in a direction that would guarantee a niche in modern American culture.

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9781496857149

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Reviews

Eck Robertson at the Crossroads of American Fiddling is a masterwork in the genre of vernacular American music."" - Andrew Kuntz, contributor to Fiddler Magazine and editor of the Traditional Tune Archive ""Robertson was an extraordinarily influential figure in the world of American fiddling—indeed, in the larger picture of American music as a whole—who more than deserves a book of his own."" - Paul F. Wells, director emeritus of the Center for Popular Music at Middle Tennessee State University

Robertson was an extraordinarily influential figure in the world of American fiddling--indeed, in the larger picture of American music as a whole--who more than deserves a book of his own.--Paul F. Wells, director emeritus of the Center for Popular Music at Middle Tennessee State University Eck Robertson at the Crossroads of American Fiddling is a masterwork in the genre of vernacular American music.--Andrew Kuntz, contributor to Fiddler Magazine and editor of the Traditional Tune Archive

Author Information

Chris Goertzen is professor emeritus of music history and world music at University of Southern Mississippi. His books include Fiddling for Norway: Revival and Identity; Southern Fiddlers and Fiddle Contests; Made in Mexico: Tradition, Tourism, and Political Ferment in Oaxaca; George P. Knauff's ""Virginia Reels"" and the History of American Fiddling; American Antebellum Fiddling; and Rugs, Guitars, and Fiddling: Intensification and the Rich Modern Lives of Traditional Crafts, the latter five published by University Press of Mississippi.

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